Search results for ""Author Stephen G. Post""

Drawing on current research in science and religion, distinguished bioethicist Stephen G. Post provocatively argues that human beings are, by nature, inclined toward a presence in the universe that is higher than their own. In consequence, the institutions of everyday life, such as schools, the workplace, and the public square, are not justified in censoring the spiritual and religious expression that freely arises from the wellspring of the human spirit. Post believes that the privatization of religious expression, coupled with the imposition of a secular monism, is a departure from true liberal democracy in which citizens are free to assert themselves in ways that manifest their full nature. Utilizing research in the neurosciences, psychiatry, the social sciences, and evolutionary psychology, he provides scientific information supporting the idea, familiar to theories of natural law, that religious expression and freedom are essential human goods. In developing this perspective, Post also engages in a critical conversation with secular existentialism. Human Nature and the Freedom of Public Religious Expression offers an alternative to the views of political philosophers such as Richard Rorty, and educators such as John Dewey, who fail to acknowledge the unique contribution that religious language, when thoughtfully implemented, makes to the tone and content of public debate and education. Post’s perspective privileges no particular religion, but rather asks that adherents to all faiths, including secularism, be allowed freely to express their core values in a civil, respectful, and public manner. Post calls for a recovery of the full meaning of liberal democracy in all domains of public life, so that we might again discover the value of freedom of expression.

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Society today, writes Stephen Post, is "hypercognitive": it places inordinate emphasis on people's powers of rational thinking and memory. Thus, Alzheimer disease and other dementias, which over an extended period incrementally rob patients of exactly those functions, raise many dilemmas. How are we to view-and value-persons deprived of what some consider the most important human capacities? In the second edition of The Moral Challenge of Alzheimer Disease, Post updates his highly praised account of the major ethical issues relating to dementia care. With chapters organized to follow the progression from mild to severe and then terminal stages of dementia, Post discusses topics including the experience of dementia, family caregiving, genetic testing for Alzheimer disease, quality of life, and assisted suicide and euthanasia. New to this edition are sections dealing with end-of-life issues (especially artificial nutrition and hydration), the emerging cognitive-enhancing drugs, distributive justice, spirituality, and hospice, as well as a critique of rationalistic definitions of personhood. The last chapter is a new summary of practical solutions useful to family members and professionals.

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The world's religions affirm it to be so and recent research across a number of disciplines tell us that "Helping others not only benefits those we assist but is good for us as well." The recent and astonishingly generous outpouring of help and donations in response to the earthquake in Haiti is a clear demonstration of this phenomenon, but what if we could be convinced to make helping others a way of life, even when times are hard? Post is author of the widely praised Why Good Things Happen to Good People Filled with inspirational anecdotes about the transformative power of doing good The author is a leader in the study of altruism, compassion, and love as well as the President of the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love Beautiful packaging, ideal for gift giving The Hidden Gifts of Helping Others will leave you with the unshakable feeling that the world is an essentially good place.

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Drawing on current research in science and religion, distinguished bioethicist Stephen G. Post provocatively argues that human beings are, by nature, inclined toward a presence in the universe that is higher than their own. In consequence, the institutions of everyday life, such as schools, the workplace, and the public square, are not justified in censoring the spiritual and religious expression that freely arises from the wellspring of the human spirit. Post believes that the privatization of religious expression, coupled with the imposition of a secular monism, is a departure from true liberal democracy in which citizens are free to assert themselves in ways that manifest their full nature. Utilizing research in the neurosciences, psychiatry, the social sciences, and evolutionary psychology, he provides scientific information supporting the idea, familiar to theories of natural law, that religious expression and freedom are essential human goods. In developing this perspective, Post also engages in a critical conversation with secular existentialism. Human Nature and the Freedom of Public Religious Expression offers an alternative to the views of political philosophers such as Richard Rorty, and educators such as John Dewey, who fail to acknowledge the unique contribution that religious language, when thoughtfully implemented, makes to the tone and content of public debate and education. Post’s perspective privileges no particular religion, but rather asks that adherents to all faiths, including secularism, be allowed freely to express their core values in a civil, respectful, and public manner. Post calls for a recovery of the full meaning of liberal democracy in all domains of public life, so that we might again discover the value of freedom of expression.

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For caregivers of deeply forgetful people: a book that combines new ethics guidelines with an innovative program on how to communicate and connect with people with Alzheimer's.How do we approach a "deeply forgetful" loved one so as to notice and affirm their continuing self-identity? For three decades, Stephen G. Post has worked around the world encouraging caregivers to become more aware of—and find renewed hope in—surprising expressions of selfhood despite the challenges of cognitive decline. In this book, Post offers new perspectives on the worth and dignity of people with Alzheimer's and related disorders despite the negative influence of "hypercognitive" values that place an ethically unacceptable emphasis on human dignity as based on linear rationality and strength of memory. This bias, Post argues, is responsible for the abusive exclusion of this population from our shared humanity. With vignettes and narratives, he argues for a deeper dignity grounded in consciousness, emotional presence, creativity, interdependence, music, and a self that is not "gone" but "differently abled." Post covers key practical topics such as: • understanding the experience of dementia• noticing subtle expressions of continuing selfhood, including "paradoxical lucidity" • perspectives on ethical quandaries from diagnosis to terminal care and everything in between, as gleaned from the voices of caregivers• how to communicate optimally and use language effectively • the value of art, poetry, symbols, personalized music, and nature in revealing self-identity• the value of trained "dementia companion" dogsAt a time when medical advances to cure these conditions are still out of reach and the most recent drugs have shown limited effectiveness, Post argues that focusing discussion and resources on the relational dignity of these individuals and the respite needs of their caregivers is vital. Grounding ethics on the equal worth of all conscious human beings, he provides a cautionary perspective on preemptive assisted suicide based on cases that he has witnessed. He affirms vulnerability and interdependence as the core of the human condition and celebrates caregivers as advocates seeking social and economic justice in an American system where they and their loved ones receive only leftover scraps. Racially inclusive and grounded in diversity, Dignity for Deeply Forgetful People also includes a workshop appendix focused on communication and connection, "A Caregiver Resilience Program," by Rev. Dr. Jade C. Angelica.

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Several million Americans are afflicted with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementing disorder. For families, professional caregivers, policy makers, and the patients themselves, the challenges are immense and the economic costs are staggering. In Dementia and Aging Robert H. Binstock, Stephen G. Post, and Peter J. Whitehouse bring together experts in gerontology, geriatrics, psychiatry, neurology, nursing, ethics, philosophy, public policy, and law to examine the ethical, moral, and policy controversies surrounding dementia. The authors first present background information on dementia and related ethical and policy issues. The remainder of the book is divided into three parts. Part One conveys the difficulties experienced by dementia patients and their caregivers. Part Two deals with ethical and moral issues involved in decisions regarding treatment and care, including the highly controversial subject of euthanasia. Part Three lays out societal choices regarding the allocation of resources for treatment, care, and research on dementia.

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